Shoe stretcher



(No Model.) 4 3 sheets-sheet "1. A. W. CASH. SHOE STRBTGHBR.

No. 416,775; Patented Dec. 1o, 1889.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. A. W. CASH.

f SHOE STRBTGHEB.;

Patented Dec. 1o, 1889` 3 sheets-#sheet s.

Patented Dec. 10, 41889' (N Model.) 2

-A. W. CASH.

SHOE STRETGHBR- UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.-

ARTHUR w. cAsI-I, 0E BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AssIeNoR To FRANK ARMSTRONG, or SAME PLACE.

sHoE-sTREToHER.

SPCF:[CATION- fOrming part 0f Letters Patent N0. 416,775, dated December 10, 1889.

Application led March 20, 1889. Seal No. 304,001. (No model.)

To all whom/'it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR 1V. CASH, a citizen of the United Stat-es, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Faireld and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same. p

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in shoe-stretchers, and has for its object to provide a device of this description which shall be simple in construction and both powerful and positivein its operation, and which may, moreover, be employed in the stretching of high boots as well as shoes; and with these en'ds in view my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter fully explained, and then 'recited in the claims.

III order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully understand the construction and operation thereof, I will describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the stretcher adapted for use upon shoes and opened widely; Fig. 2, a side elevation cfa shoestretcher adapted for use upon boots, one of the stretchers being removed; Fig. 3, alongitudinal section through one ot the stretcherlevers; Fig. 4, a bottom plan view, various degrees of expansion of the stretchers being shown in dotted lines; and Fig. 5, a detail showing the heel-brace and its arrangement around the rod and sleeve.

Like numerals denote the same parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 is a rod threaded externally near one end, as seen at 2, and having its extremity rotatably secured in a small cast head 3.

4 are stretcher-levers grooved lon gitudinally as to their outer edges, as seen at 5,

Fig. 3, and pierced at each end for the reception of rivets. At their inner ends these levers are pivoted to the head 3, hereinbefore referred to.

6 is a traveler interiorly screw-threaded and engaging with the screw-threaded portion of the rod 1.V To this traveler are pivoted links 7, whose outer ends rest in the grooved levers, and, together with said levers are pivoted to the stretchers 8. These latter ings 13 14, in the former of which bearings the outer end of the rod 1 is journaled, and in the latter of which bearings an auxiliary handled rod 15 is mounted, the extremities of said rods being connected bya pair of bevcled gears 16.

In the operation of my invention, when the rod l is rotated to the right, the traveler is caused to move lengthwise on the rod, thereby through the links throwing out the stretcherlevers and the stretchers which are mounted upon the ends thereof. Reversed rotation of the rod closes the stretchers in like manner. The grooving of the outer edges of the stretcher-levers permits the links, when the device is closed, to lie in said grooves, so that the closing may be more perfect.

The brace upon the sleeve 9 isintended to be engaged with the rear of the shoe-counter, and thereby check any tendency of the stretchers, when expanded, to back out into the wider portion of the shoe. The sleeve merely forms a support for the brace, so that the latter may remain stationary notwithstanding the rotation of the rod.

4the stretcher may be operated perfectly longitudinal of the foot portion of a boot, while at the same time the stretcher thus oonstrueted may be used for shoes as well.

I claiml. In a shoe-stretch er, the eombinatiomwith a threaded operating-rod, of a head in which the end of said rod is pivoted, the stretcherlevers hinged 1o the head, the stretehers mounted on said levers, the links connected to the levers near their outer ends, and the traveler on the screw-threaded rod for the operation of the links, substantially as set forth.

2. In a shoe-stretcher, the oomb.ination,with the stretohers and means for operating the same, of the rod threaded only at its lower end, the sleeve loosely mounted upon the unthreaded portion of said rod and adapted to slide freely thereon, and the brace surrounding and freely adjustable lengthwise of said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a shoe-stretcher, with the threaded rod, the head in which the end of said rod is arranged to turn,and the levers and stretehers operated by said rod, of the right-angled frame secured to the head, the auxiliary operating-rod journ'aled therein7 and means, as a pair of beveled gears, for imparting the movement of the auxiliary rod to the screw-threaded rod, substantially as set forth. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR W. CASH.

Witnesses:

S. H. HUBBARD, G. ANDREWS. 

